Ohio St. president retiring after jabs at Notre Dame

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio State University Gordon Gee (GHEE’) is retiring following the revelation of recorded remarks in which he criticized Notre Dame, Roman Catholics and the Southeastern Conference.

The university announced today that Gee is retiring as of July 1.

Gee made the joking remarks to the university’s Athletic Council in December during an update on Big Ten expansion. The recorded comments were obtained by The Associated Press, which published a story about them last week. Trustees had called Gee’s remarks unacceptable and placed him on a remediation plan after learning of the comments earlier this year.

Gee has been a successful college president but also prone to verbal gaffes, once calling Ohio’s governor a “dummy” and likening the job of running a university to the Polish Army.

Sound:

%@AP Links

257-a-16-(Gordon Gee, president, Ohio State University, in remarks to Ohio State Athletic Council on December 5, 2012)-”Thursday or Friday”-In remarks late last year, Ohio State University President Gordon Gee explained why Notre Dame was never invited to join the Big Ten. ((cut contains the expressions ‘holy hell’ and ‘damn Catholics’)) (Gee has issued a statement of apology, saying “The comments I made were just plain wrong, and in no way do they reflect what the university stands for. They were a poor attempt at humor and entirely inappropriate.”) (4 Jun 2013)

<<CUT *257 (06/04/13)>> 00:16 “Thursday or Friday”

259-a-06-(Gordon Gee, president, Ohio State University, in remarks to Ohio State Athletic Council on December 5, 2012)-”we’re doing, yeah (unintelligible, fades)”-In remarks late last year, Ohio State University President Gordon Gee questioned the SEC’s academic standards. And then, when asked how he’d respond to SEC fans who say the Big Ten can’t count because it now has 14 members — he got a laugh with his answer. (4 Jun 2013)

253-c-20-(Andrew Welsh-Huggins, AP correspondent)-”risk being fired”-AP correspondent Andrew Welsh-Huggins reports Ohio State President Gordon Gee has announced he is retiring, after it was revealed last week he had make some joking jabs at Catholics. (4 Jun 2013)

<<CUT *253 (06/04/13)>> 00:20 “risk being fired”

254-c-15-(Andrew Welsh-Huggins, AP correspondent)-”quite a while”-AP correspondent Andrew Welsh-Huggins reports Ohio State President Gordon Gee says his decision to retire is not connected to comments he made last year about Catholics. (4 Jun 2013)

<<CUT *254 (06/04/13)>> 00:15 “quite a while”

255-c-08-(Andrew Welsh-Huggins, AP correspondent)-”with his family”-AP correspondent Andrew Welsh-Huggins reports Gordon Gee says there were a number of reasons why he is retiring as president of Ohio State. (4 Jun 2013)

<<CUT *255 (06/04/13)>> 00:08 “with his family”

258-a-18-(Gordon Gee, president, Ohio State University, in remarks to Ohio State Athletic Council on December 5, 2012)-”University of Kentucky”-In remarks late last year, Ohio State University President Gordon Gee said certain schools just don’t rate academically. (4 Jun 2013)

<<CUT *258 (06/04/13)>> 00:18 “University of Kentucky”

APPHOTO NY171: FILE – In this May 5, 2013, file photo, Ohio State president E. Gordon Gee gesturing as he speaks during the university’s spring commencement in Columbus, Ohio. Gee is retiring as of July 1 following the revelation of recorded remarks in which he criticized Notre Dame, Roman Catholics and the Southeastern Conference, the university announced Tuesday, June 4, 2013. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File) (5 May 2013)